The Bonds of Youth
by That Yaoi Boy
Summary: Haunted by the past, Sasuke decides to swallow his pride and seek comfort in an unlikely place, at an ungodly hour.  Sasuke/Naruto "missing scene" story.


Random melodramatic 'missing-scene' fluff that has been floating around my brain for a bit. It has only been edited by me, so please pardon any mistakes. Depending on how you squint, this can either be taken as yaoi or just really close friendship. Any comments and/or criticisms are welcome. Oh, I also quite obviously do not own Naruto. In this dimension. Yet.

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><p><em>Tap-tap-tap.<em>

A very groggy Naruto Uzumaki sat straight up in bed and looked around wildly, his once peaceful slumber now but a fleeting dream. Everything in his apartment seemed normal enough and he couldn't sense any hostile intent...

" 'S probably just my imagination." he mumbled sleepily. A few more seconds passed before he started to settle down back into bed.

_Tap-tap-tap._

"Uwah!" he cried out at the sudden noise and hid beneath the covers. He may have been a shinobi now, but he _was _still a kid and it _was_ the middle of the night. A slight fear of ghosts may have also played into things.

"Naruto, its me you idiot, open up!" came a familiar voice from outside his window.

Surprised, Naruto clambered out of bed, hurried over to the window, lifted up the shade, and fell flat on his ass backwards at the sight that greeted him.

Sasuke's face was less than a foot away and he looked livid; the light of the moon illuminating his pale skin adding greatly to the effect.

"What are you doing?" his teammate sighed, anger giving way to incredulity. Naruto's nickname really was spot-on sometimes.

"Well, you look creepy with the moon behind you like that!" Naruto yelled, getting up and opening the window. "Your eyes were glowing like a cat or something!" he added as his friend climbed into the room while the blond switched on a light.

Sasuke closed the window behind him and just stood in place awkwardly, a rare look of confusion settling across his features.

Uncomfortable with the tense atmosphere, Naruto attempted to put the other boy at ease. "So, um, what's going on Sasuke?"

"I came to ask you something."

"Yeah, I got that part, but why are you here at this hour? Its close to midnight and you know we have a mission tomorrow morning."

Sasuke fidgeted a bit, something Naruto had never seen him do before, and quickly crossed the room to take a seat on the bed. "I know that! I just couldn't...I mean today is." he began then quickly fell silent.

Now, Naruto was really confused. He was used to a silent brooding Sasuke, but this was different somehow. It was so surreal seeing the other boy's total lack of composure; Naruto honestly didn't know what to do next.

Folding his arms behind his head the way he always did when trying to figure something out, Naruto took a few cautious steps forward until he was just in front of Sasuke. He squatted down so they were at eye level, held up a hand, and flicked the Uchiha in the forehead as hard as he could.

"Ouch, what the hell Naruto? That hurt you idiot!"

"Well then quit acting all distant and tell me what's wrong already jackass! I kinda wanna to go back to sleep if ya don't mind!"

Sasuke huffed a bit, clearly in disbelief that someone had _dared_ to flick him of all things. It looked for a moment like he was ready to argue about it, but then the fire in his eyes suddenly died away and he simply looked lost again. "It was tonight." he whispered, as if that explained everything.

Finally, after a few excruciatingly long moments of silence, Naruto started putting two and two together. The only other time he had ever seen Sasuke even remotely like this was when the subject of his parents had come up. That probably meant...

"Is it..? Is tonight the anniversary of, you know?" Naruto asked slowly, hoping it didn't set his teammate off again. He quite liked this apartment and didn't want to see it go up in flames.

Thankfully, Sasuke only nodded and looked away, a slight blush tinging his cheeks. "I thought I was stronger than this, but I still can't..." he trailed off, voice wavering. Enough of this, he decided, it was time to just come right out and say it. "I don't want to be alone right now Naruto. Can I sleep here with you tonight?"

Naruto being Naruto, his initial response was, to put it lightly, not ideal.

"Ehhhhhh? THAT'S what you came here to ask? Like, sleep _together_ in the same bed, _with you_? Isn't that WEIRD?"

Sasuke rose angrily, clearly hurt and not bothering to hide it very well. "Fine, I'm sorry I asked you for anything asshole!" he spat bitterly. He pushed past the blond and made it all the way to the window, when a hand caught his wrist just as he began opening it to leave.

"I'm sorry. Sasuke, I'm sorry."

Sasuke took a deep breath and sighed heavily, his anger melting away as quickly as it had flared.

"I don't know what its like to...to lose something like that. But, you're my friend and even I know that friends have to be there to support each other through stuff like this. I shouldn't have reacted like that. You can stay here with me tonight."

Another sigh, this time one of content relief.

"Thank you, Naruto."

"Just um, don't tell Sakura okay? I have a feeling she'd probably hit me, or worse.

A slight smile crept onto Sasuke's lips at the thought. "Alright." he agreed.

"Good. Now come on, we've both got to get some sleep or we're going to fail that mission tomorrow."

So it was that twenty minutes later found the pair back-to-back in Naruto's tiny bed, its owner already fast asleep, while his guest was being lulled into joining him by the feeling of the blond's steady heartbeat.

Memories of that terrible night years before flashed briefly before the Uchiha's eyes, but at that moment Naruto stirred, lost in some dream no doubt, and squeezed Sasuke's hand tightly. His brother's words still rung in his ears, but for the first time in his life Sasuke was able to brush them aside.

"Perhaps its not so bad after all, to have a bond like this."

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><p>I'm a bit conflicted about the ending, Originally, I ended with Naruto's last line of dialogue, but then I went and added that other bit on for who knows what reason. I don't know which is better. Opinions? Oh yeah, I'm aware of the gross overuse of ellipses. Couldn't help it this time. XD<p> 


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